New Petition
We are indeed living in turbulent times and we know there is great competition for your attention. The environment seems to be falling off so many political agendas. But we can do something locally. Please support our vision of preserving and protecting the unique amenities and environment of the Islands Trust area by signing our petition to be sent to elected members of the Islands Trust Council and the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, Ravi Kahlon. We want to present this petition soon and your voice matters!
We are having our brochure and poster updated and are hoping to have a table at various island markets or events this summer. If you would like to help out at a table on your island or would like to distribute posters, brochures and help us get petition signatures, please get in touch through our email. All assistance appreciated!
Below is the first of a regular Gulf Islands Driftwood column by Rob Botterell. Green Party MLA for Saanich North and the Islands, published April 2, 2025. We applaud Rob, a former trustee, for clearly articulating his views on the Islands Trust. They align very closely with our own views. You can contact Rob at rob.botterell.MLA@leg.bc.ca to express your support or ask questions.
Article: Original Islands Trust Mandate is Paramount
Every month I plan to write about an issue raised by constituents from Saanich North and the Islands, and offer my perspective as your MLA. This month my focus is on the future of the Islands Trust.
In the mid-1980s, I was a trustee for Bowen Island and I now live on Pender Island. Then, as now, there were strongly differing opinions on how the Trust should operate and how it should be funded. But there is one thing we all agreed on: The 13 major islands and 450 smaller islands are a unique and very special part of the world that must be preserved and protected from the exponential growth in surrounding urban areas on Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland. The Islands Trust mandate is clear:
The object of the Trust is to preserve and protect the Trust Area and its unique amenities and environment for the benefit of the residents of the Trust Area and of British Columbia generally, in cooperation with municipalities, regional districts, improvement districts, First Nations, other persons and organizations and the government of British Columbia.
Fast forward to 2025 and the Islands Trust has more challenges to preserve and protect the lands and waters in the Trust area. These challenges include accelerating climate change, drought, wildfires, development pressures, environmental and marine degradation, reconciliation with First Nations, lack of affordable non-market housing and access to health care for existing residents. And all of these challenges must be met in a fiscally sustainable way.
Land use planning to preserve and protect the Trust area and its unique amenities and environment is the core responsibility of the Islands Trust. In the face of the above challenges, islands trustees have worked to develop a new Islands Trust Policy Statement to guide land use planning work. In particular, there has been a move, made in camera, to re-interpret the term “unique amenities and environment” to include matters that are not unique to the trust area, for example housing, livelihoods, infrastructure and tourism.
Written by Rob Botterell, Green Party MLA for Saanich North and the Islands. Published in the Driftwood on April 2, 2025. You can email Rob at rob.botterell.MLA@leg.bc.ca